Lt. Col. Gregory Walker, chaplain for the 3rd Infantry Division, speaks on weathering the storms of life July 25 during the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team prayer breakfast on Fort Stewart.

Weathering the storms of life was the theme of a 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division prayer breakfast July 25 on Fort Stewart.

Keynote speaker Lt. Col. Gregory Walker, 3rd ID chaplain, spoke to those assembled about the importance of each soldier building for him or herself a strong foundation of spiritual fitness to aid in overcoming challenges.

“We all face storms in life, and life sometimes is hard and difficult,” Walker said. “Soldiers have extra issues that the normal civilian doesn’t have, and that makes our circumstances sometimes more difficult. We need to know this: No matter how bad [the storms] may be, no matter how much damage they cause, there is always light at the end of the tunnel [and] the sun will always come back up.”

Maj. David Trogdon, 4th IBCT chaplain, said the prayer breakfast was held to give soldiers and leaders a “timeout” from work and other obligations to focus on building spiritual fitness — something he considers to be an essential component of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, an Army program aimed at building resilience and enhancing the performance of soldiers and their families.

“[Spiritual fitness is] vital because it contributes to everything else, [and] it impacts every area of our lives,” Trogdon said. “Personally, it’s helped me deal with everything the Army and life [has] sent my way.”

Pvt. John Argabright, a fire support specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th IBCT, said he attended the prayer breakfast because spiritual fitness is an important part of his life.

“Being very spiritually fit [and] strong will pretty much help me with anything,” Argabright said. “As long as I’m spiritually happy nothing really bothers me. It just keeps me together.”